Former FBI chief James Comey said on Thursday he will resist a subpoena to appear before a congressional committee on 3 December unless the hearing happens publicly, because House Republicans will distort anything he says behind closed doors.
“I’m still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions,” he tweeted.
The House judiciary committee chairman, Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, subpoenaed Comey as part of an investigation into FBI decisions made during the 2016 election, when Democrat Hillary Clinton was cleared in an investigation into her email use and agents opened an investigation into Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.
Some Republicans have argued that Department of Justice (DoJ) officials were conspiring against Trump’s election when Comey ran the FBI. They have interviewed multiple current and former DoJ officials behind closed doors in an effort to prove their point.
Democrats say Republicans are trying to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation before they lose control of the House in January.
Trump’s firing of Comey in May 2017 and subsequent statements about it are among issues under investigation by Mueller. It was reported this week that Trump wanted to force the DoJ to prosecute Comey and Clinton, but was talked out of it by the White House legal counsel.
Comey tweeted of House Republicans: “I’ve seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Let’s have a hearing and invite everyone to see.”
His lawyer, David Kelley, said in a statement that Comey “will resist in court this abuse of process”.